Episodes

If you aren’t aware, Anthony’s YouTube channel, The Needle Drop, is insanely popular and influential for reviewing music. How he ended up with this title of Internet’s busiest music nerd, is quite a story
Recently, Anthony and I connected over the phone to discuss how he got into doing this for a living and what he enjoys most out of reviewing music. Don’t worry, we got nerdy on some real screamo too.

Today we welcome Justin Courtney Pierre, who you may know from Motion City Soundtrack, Farewell Continental or The Rapture Twins.
He recently released his first solo album entitled “In The Drink” that we discuss extensively in this episode and what it took to make it happen. We also chat about his upbringing with friends and family that helped him get into music, his years in speech therapy and the label of pop punk and emo with the band. Plus we talk about his struggles with dependence on...

Today we welcome Ian King, author of Appetite for Definition: The A to Z Guide to Rock Genres.
This book contains 100s of genres explained and as we will discuss, there’s a way to jump around and learn about other genres by way of like minded artist, genres that connect and specific songs. I had the honor of being interviewed for the book and you can guess which genres I was a part of. We talk a lot about genres in general, his take on emo, upbringing in Seattle, finding out about punk and...

The band is celebrating 20 years of The Moon My Saddle with a few select shows and it was time to get David on. This podcast episode is a lot about redemption and letting things go as times pass. One of those is an amazing quote on The Moon My Saddle when it first came out in Alternative Press. It says “David Moore on this record makes Huey Lewis sound like the king of the Delta Blues.” Then, 10 years later, Alternative Press does a big feature/interview on the band. Some things are ahead of...

Today we welcome Eric Melin from Ultimate Fakebook. Ultimate Fakebook are from Kansas and were on the amazing independent label, Initial Records. They toured with bands from the era including The Get Up Kids, At the Drive In and Motion City Soundtrack. Eric also was in a couple bands before that called Truck Stop Love and The Dead Girls. He’s also a film critic alongside his day job doing marketing/social media and he’s also a world champion in air guitar, which we start talking about as the...

Today we welcome Dave Brown. Dave helped start a zine called Muddle, co-founded Better Looking Records, did some marketing and PR under the name Holiday Matinee for your favorite bands and now lives in Seattle and works with Microsoft. Not a bad ride and for someone that was there in the moment and took advantage of what was around him. A truly great chat with someone deeply connected to the inner workings of the scene.

Today we welcome Ryan Grisham from Mock Orange! They’re back in the news a bit as they recently announced a 20th-anniversary tour for their very much loved “Nines and Sixes” album. Ryan and I talked about the band’s changes, their high profile producers they’ve worked with, how they were a midwest band but never really toured in the Midwest and their life in Japan that kept them going. Mock Orange should be your favorite band, I hope it is after this episode. Finally, we’ve named the episode...

Today we welcome Chris Popadak from Hawthorne Heights. Chris has been drumming with the band as a touring and session member since 2014 and joined fully last year. We connected because we’ve definitely used Hawthorne Heights as an example of when emo goes wrong and Chris wanted to set the story straight…. When we spoke over email he mentioned that he was into a bunch of the older stuff, the band knew they weren’t emo and to let me know they are still a band! Plus they haven’t stopped being a...

Today we welcome Nathan Hardy from the band Microwave. Microwave just finished up a little run with Jimmy Eat World and The Hotelier and it was high time to get Nathan to chat. We talk a lot about being labeled emo, his struggle and acceptance of growing out of the mormon church, being homeless for a time and feeling like a big kid when everyone else moves on and “grows up.” I remind him that Microwave is a horrible band name for SEO and Nathan searches his band name on Google for the first...

Today we welcome Tony Weinbender from Fest! Tony has curated an amazing festival in Florida started in 2002 with 60 bands has grown into the premiere independent festival with this year having 400+ bands performing across 3 days this fall. It’s simple, make something awesome and stick at it, people will support. Tony like myself started in college radio and booked bands at MacRock, the festival put on by WXJM at James Madison University. He then went on to work at No Idea Records in Florida...

Today we welcome Anthony Green from Circa Survive, Saosin and the Sound of Animals Fighting. My history with Anthony goes back to the early days of Circa Survive and working alongside him at Equal Vision Records for the Juturna and On Letting Go album releases. As the years passed, we stayed in touch and would see each other as you do when a band rolls through town. Anthony was always super into what I was doing with Washed Up Emo and check in when I’d post something about The Promise Ring...

Today we welcome back Matt Pryor from The Get Up Kids. Matt and the boys have a new EP, Kicker, on Polyvinyl Records, out this week and it was time to get Matt back on to chat.
We discuss how The Get Up Kids have stayed together all these years, their knack for writing EPs, I get caught saying I liked Jim’s songs better and you’ll hear why I owe Matt $25 for doing the podcast. Finally, we hear about more recordings happening and what that means about a full album.

Today we welcome Dave Diem from Twelve Hour Turn and LAPêCHE. Twelve Hour Turn were an amazing post-hardcore band from Florida from 1997-2002. You may know them from their LP with I Hate Myself or 7" with Engine Down. My personal favorite is their LP The Victory of Flight. Dave and I chat about his time in Twelve Hour Turn, how independent music shaped him, why the band broke up and what led to LAPêCHE and the feeling of making music after a 10 year absence.

When Henderson read about bands getting screwed by Victory Records in the news, he thought he could do something about it. So he actually went to law school. In this episode you’ll learn about how Henderson got into law, where his DIY roots started, and why he founded The Alternative.
This is also a crash course about what things bands should think about when it comes to a lawyer. I learned a ton on this episode and I think you will too. Special thanks to the Patreon supporters! (Episode is...

Today we welcome Susie Ulrey from the band Pohgoh. I first heard about the band on the first volume of the Emo Diaries compilation. They were everything I wanted in a band when I was playing music back in the day. Susie and I met up in New York City recently to chat and we discussed her upbringing in Florida, getting into the scene, her crush on Brent with a bowl cut and why a community is so important. We also chat about her living with MS and the many challenges of daily life and trying to...

Today we welcome Scott Vogel from the band's Despair, Buried Alive and Terror. You’re probably confused right now, hear me out. Scott is a huge emo fan and professed his love for Texas is the Reason, Split Lip and Chris Higdon from Elliott multiple times including a dream scenario for Chris you need to hear in its entirety. Scott also mentions the time he kept singing the chorus of Jimmy Eat World’s "Sweetness" for a whole tour annoying his band. We talk at length about the hardcore scene...

Late last year Matt Pond PA played it’s last show, after almost 20 years of music. I had always loved Matt Pond PA and wanted to find out more about him, his life and where he sees the next phase of his music. To learn more go to InDreams.Space

Today we welcome Nathan Ellis from Coalesce, The Casket Lottery and Able Baker Fox. The Casket Lottery has re-released some records via Run for Cover and got back in the van again to play live. Nathan spoke with me prior to the tour about growing up in Kansas City, seeing shows at the age of 14 and how we’d both be outed if we tried to hang with the kids today. Nathan’s love of music shines through this entire episode.

We talk about Senses Fail's new album "If There Is Light, It Will Find You" and how the band got their start, the crazy time in the mid-00s when everyone was getting signed. Buddy speaks candidly about what bands were thinking as the emo boom took hold in NJ and in other parts of the country and world. A fun chat and one where he didn’t hold back. I loved hearing his take on emo and the shape it took when Senses Fail were gaining popularity. Thanks for listening!